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Civilization ends, history begins at Canada’s biggest museum

The Museum of Civilization gets a name change &mdash; the Canadian Museum of History &mdash; and a new mission to teach Canadians about their past.

Heritage Minister James Moore announces the the Museum of Civilization in Gatineau, Que., will become the Canadian Museum of History, the first in a series of measures on the road to Canada's 150th birthday in 2017. (Sean Kilpatrick / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

By Susan DelacourtOttawa Bureau

Tues., Oct. 16, 2012

OTTAWA—Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s government has ushered in the end of civilization — at least when it comes to the name of Canada’s largest museum.

The old Museum of Civilization, which sits directly across the river from Parliament Hill, has been renamed as the Canadian Museum of History. And with the new name, the museum also gets a $25-million cash injection and a sharper focus in its job — to take Canadians on a “narrative” tour of the country’s past.

Heritage Minister James Moore is rejecting accusations that his government is using this name change to try to rewrite Canada’s history or shine a light only on military and royal symbols held dear by the Conservatives.

“By the time we celebrate Canada’s 150th birthday (in 2017,) Canadians will have a new museum that highlights the national achievements and accomplishments that have shaped our great country,” Moore told a news conference Tuesday, attended by some of Canada’s leading historians.

“This is not about a left-wing issue or a right-wing issue. This is the right thing to do, to build an institution that will span all of Canada.” Moore said.

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The Museum of Civilization, a nearly 5,000-square-foot edifice opened in 1990, has tended to lean more to anthropology than to history in its exhibits, with an emphasis on aboriginal and international culture.

Historians and cultural critics have long complained there was no place in the nation’s capital paying tribute to the big events, ideas and people that shaped Canada. There are museums to honour war, nature, science and technology and even currency, but no venue that presents the country’s whole story, from Confederation to modern times.

Just this summer, Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson was talking up the need for a “Canadian Smithsonian,” similar to the massive U.S. institution in Washington, which celebrates the American past.

Moore’s announcement, backed by the Historica-Dominion Institute and the civilization museum’s board, could be seen as a reply to all those demands. In fact, the new mission for the museum is based on a 10-year-old idea that arose during a previous Liberal government.

Former prime minister Jean Chretien laid the groundwork for a “Canadian History Centre” as he was leaving office in 2003, appointing an advisory council to get the institution up and running in Ottawa’s historic old train station, now the Government Conference Centre across from the Chateau Laurier hotel.

But those plans were scrapped soon after Paul Martin took over as prime minister.

Harper’s government appears now to have revived the history-centre plan on a more modest scale. Rather than set up a whole new cultural institution — something Conservatives have been loath to do (they also cancelled a planned portrait museum) — it is repurposing one of the existing buildings to be more history-friendly.

Charlotte Gray, the well-known historical author, had been in charge of the council to set up the history centre under Chrétien. On Tuesday, she was also there to lend her support to the newly renamed museum.

New Democrat and Liberal critics are saying, however, that the museum’s renaming is part of a larger, very deliberate effort by the Harper government to put a Conservative stamp on every symbol of the country. Since Harper came to power, lavish attention and money have been splashed on everything to do with the monarchy and the military in particular.

NDP heritage critic Andrew Cash said the Conservatives are throwing money at the museum while they cutting federal library and archive budgets — “robbing Peter to pay Paul” — and paying more attention to displays of history than the preservation of it.

Cash also pointed out that Moore has not been reticent about his displeasure over cultural exhibits in Ottawa, such as last year’s sex education exhibit at the science museum. He said it is hard to believe that the minister wouldn’t actively try to shape this museum according to Conservatives’ likes and dislikes.

Moore, for his part, said on Tuesday he was merely expressing his opinion about those shows, not attempting to shut them down.

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